Selfish Desire [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 38: Fourth Great Ninja War

The next day...

Ayuda's P.O.V

"Are you certain that he is indeed Madara Uchiha?"

I answered with a somber mien, "That seems to be the case. There is no hard proof he is, but judging from the fact that he's the one who declared a massive war against the five great shinobi nations, there is no doubt he is."

Kenzo had just arrived and Shiori and I were there to welcome him at the entrance gate of the village. The three of us headed straight for a café and caught up with one another. I immediately asked him to train me more and when he inquired me regarding my sudden urge to meet with him at a rushed pace, I informed him about Madara's dreadful words concerning my archery techniques.

"Let me guess," asked Kenzo indifferently, "You got depressed after hearing that?"

"Well," I countered, "I love archery so much and consider myself as an archery expert so of course, it would be heartbreaking to hear that! Wouldn't you feel the same way?"

"I felt that many times before and I've grown immune to them," replied Kenzo without delay, rendering me temporarily dumbstruck.

So he had also been scoffed at like that before?

Kenzo cast his eyes to the table, making them become half-lidded and hence making him look like he was recollecting the awful memories of his past. He continued, "Archery has always been considered weak and useless and many bastards told me that in the past. I was irritated but I eventually got used to such derision. No matter how good you are in archery, there will be some dumb idiots who are too close-minded."

I said in response, "I agree. Opinions of others are hard to change. But I really want to prove Madara wrong. I'm going to take advantage of the upcoming war and show everyone what an archer is truly capable of."

Kenzo gazed at me with a pair of bored eyes that threatened to infuriate me because it looked like he could not care less about everything I said. Shiori, on the other hand, was amazed by my brief speech, evident from the shimmer in her eyes as she gaped at me with eyebrows raised.

That's when Kenzo closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest nonchalantly, "Hmph."

"Don't just 'hmph' me!" I nearly raised my voice at him across the table, "Please, teach me some techniques! I want to stand out during the war! Please!"

"Stop yelling at me already," growled Kenzo, "I didn't say no at all."

His last statement was so sudden and confusing, "Huh?"

Kenzo stood up from his seat out of the blue and looked down at me, "Pay my drink right now and then we'll go to our training area."

Without further ado, he sauntered towards the exit of the café. I sent a deadpanned look at the table. He had ordered a coffee, five plates of tamagoyaki, two bowls of tamago kake gohan, miso shiru, and natto. Shiori let out an apologetic laugh at her uncle's antic before she spoke up, "Well, everyone including him likes free foods. Ayuda, go catch up with him while I pay for everything."

I heaved a small sigh and told her, "It's okay, sensei. I'll pay them all."

The three of us eventually arrived at our usual training spot which was a large secluded field just by the river bank. Feeling so eager to get things started, I began to take out my bow and said, "Then, Kenzo, what are we going to-"

That's when I felt a cold and prickling sensation on my cheek. My entire body became frozen like ice and my adrenaline escalated considerably. From the corner of my eye, I could see the tip of the kunai pressing against my cheek. It dug into my skin enough to release a tiny trail of blood to my jaw. Whoever it was was obviously holding the kunai from behind me. Other than that, I was petrified that I didn't sense it coming before.